Relevance of Years 9 and 10 Grades

[elliex0x0x]

Hi all,

I was just wondering as someone who would be applying as an international student whether poor grades (mostly Bs but the occasional C or even D and I believe an E+) on my report cards from before IB would prohibit me from getting into some of the better university aka UC Berkeley, even if I were to score high on my IBDP and on the SAT tests and all of that

Thanks  

[Thrashmaster]

Well, schools do definitely look at your grades from all 4 years of high school, and those bad grades will bring your GPA down. Most of the schools say what GPA they're looking for as a minimum, and that's all you need to do. The GPA is really just a way to eliminate people, it doesn't decide if you get in. 

 

UC Berkeley says: 

1. Earn a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better (3.4 if you're a nonresident) in these courses with no grade lower than a C.

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/index.html

This link above is where I got that from and lists 'these courses' above. Since you are a nonresident, you'll need a 3.4, and if you got a D or E+ in one of those courses, you might not be eligible. Sorry.

 

Here's there average student as well:

http://admissions.berkeley.edu/studentprofile

[by.andrew]

UC Berkeley says: 

1. Earn a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better (3.4 if you're a nonresident) in these courses with no grade lower than a C.

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/index.html

This link above is where I got that from and lists 'these courses' above. Since you are a nonresident, you'll need a 3.4, and if you got a D or E+ in one of those courses, you might not be eligible. Sorry.

 

 

Yeah, UC Berkeley puts a lot of emphasis on marks. The 3.4 GPA / No D rule will literally prohibit you from applying to any UC. Plus, most US universities actually put emphasis on sophomore and Junior year grades rather than actual IB grades.

[elliex0x0x]

Haha okay thanks, but what exactly is a GPA? We don't have it where I'm from so would they still be able to use it? And then will they look on my other scores from years 7 and 8 which was in high school for me?

[Guest Daminark]

Since you asked about Berkeley specifically, and since different universities do it differently, I'll keep it UC. 

 

UC only cares about the grades between the summer before 10th and the summer after 11th grade.

 

GPA means Grade Point Average. Each trimester/semester grade in the a-g classes (History/Social Studies, English, Math, Lab Science, LOTE, Fine Arts, and College-prep elective) is assigned a value.

 

Unweighted GPA (UGPA) only considers the grade, regardless of honors. The values are: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 (ignore +/-). The GPA is the average of all of them.

 

Weighted GPA (WGPA) assigns extra value to honors courses. You can have up to 8 semesters (up to 4 semesters in 10th grade) that get this additional value, if you meet minimum requirements. A=5, B=4, C=3 (a D doesn't get extra value). For California residents, honors classes are school-designated honors classes plus certain AP and IB courses. For non-California residents, only AP/IB courses get the extra weighting. 

 

For California residents, a 3.0 WGPA is required for admission, and for non-residents, 3.4 WGPA is required. This does not only apply to Berkeley, however. Failure to reach 3.4 disqualifies you from all UCs. Remember that, because of the selectivity (especially in regard to non-residents), even meeting the 3.4 doesn't guarantee anything.

 

PM me if you need any more help.

[flinquinnster]

Haha okay thanks, but what exactly is a GPA? We don't have it where I'm from so would they still be able to use it? And then will they look on my other scores from years 7 and 8 which was in high school for me?

 

Most Australian schools don't have GPA - mine didn't either and I don't think they bothered calculating one to put on my application. Honestly, I don't know if not having a GPA on the application prejudices it simply because it takes more effort to compare your academic results. I think it shouldn't because they still have a copy of your transcript and many schools overseas don't have GPA, but honestly no one can really say they definitively understand how those US admissions offices work! Your school might be able to calculate one if you ask with some rough guesstimation based on your predicted ATAR, but if they haven't done it before they're probably not going to do a terribly good job of it anyway. 

 

When I applied to the US I put my high school results from the beginning of Year 9 to the end of Year 12 (but not including my final IB results, as they hadn't come out yet). It might vary from institution to institution, but typically year 7 and year 8 isn't included - so if you got your Ds and Es in those years then you may be in luck.

 

Speaking from an Australian perspective, the US admissions process is way, way more intensive than pretty much all Australian application processes (with the exception of some medicine or other specialty courses, and some scholarships). Whilst that does make it harder to apply, it does mean that they look at a lot of things other than your academic transcript. Having said that, most people applying at the most competitive institutions have brilliant academic results and everything else, so start working early on all your application materials if you're keen!